The Great War

About this board game

The Great War is a two-player World War I strategy game with an average play time of 60 minutes, adapting Richard Borg’s Command & Colours system to the battlefields of the First World War.

The core game focuses on a series of trench warfare battles drawn from WWI history. Its scenario booklet emphasizes the historical deployment of forces and the important terrain features that shaped fighting in the trenches, while allowing the scale of each engagement to vary.

In one scenario, a handful of infantry units may represent an entire wing of a larger battle. In another, a single unit may portray only a few brave soldiers going over the top. This flexible scale supports a range of historical engagements within the same system.

• Command cards drive movement, create fog of war, and open up tactical opportunities.
• Battle dice resolve combat quickly and efficiently.
• Combat cards add suspense and challenge players to coordinate their use at the right time.
• Scenarios reflect the strengths and limitations of WWI units, weapons, terrain, and battlefield history.

Success in The Great War depends on executing battlefield tactics that suit the forces and conditions of each engagement. Players must make timely decisions while working within the restrictions created by trench terrain, unit types, and the flow of their cards.

Released in 2015, the core game provides a focused entry into World War I’s trench battles. Planned expansions were intended to broaden the experience with early-war and Eastern Front scenarios, tanks, airplanes, additional national armies, and more special personnel figures.